Within the current economic and political climate there is a huge amount of emphasis put on sustainable business practice.  Embracing this agenda is critically important for the sector, not only in terms of meeting anticipated future regulation, but also because of the long term business benefits to be gained from improvements in efficiency and competitiveness.  Employers increasingly need staff at all levels of the organisation who can help maximise the efficient use of the resources available to them including water, energy, waste, transport and the environment.

Cogent is working with industry to develop national occupational standards and qualifications to help the sector respond to these challenges.  These will be incorporated into the Gold Standards to provide a clear list of requirements for each job role.

The NOS will form the basis of all the new qualifications.  They must accurately describe the skills and knowledge required by the industry.  We need to know that the standards accurately describe the skills and knowledge that you see as essential to sustainable business practice.

We have developed three draft qualifications which are open for consultation with employers and other stakeholders:

• Level 2 Award in Contributing to Sustainable Business Practice
• Level 3 Award in Implementing Sustainable Business Practice
• Level 4 Award in Managin Sustainable Business Practice

What we want to know from you…

• What are your views on the content of the qualifications proposed?
• Is there a need for staff development around sustainability?
• If so, at what levels of the organisation and for which staff?
• Is there a demand for qualifications in this area, or is this something which is better delivered through non-formal training?

For more information, and to view the full suite of national occupational standards for sustainable business practice, please click here.

Please contact a member of the project team for more information:

Dawn Hillier - 01925 515 211

Patrick McDaniel - 01379 676 545